Fire-escape ladder.



l. F. SPALDING.

FIRE ESCAPE LADDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. s, 191s.

Patented J U13 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 I, WEA/ron; l James UaZdZ/Zy,

ATUR/VEY 1. F. sPALDlNG.

FlRE'EscAPE LADDER.

APPLICATION FILED APILB, I9I5.

Patented July 11, 1916.v

91 I y 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ,4 TTRNEY,

lso

iii

JAMES F. SPALDING, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

FIRE-Escasa LADDER:

Application filed April 8, 1915.

To all whom it muy concern: y

Be it known that I, JAuns F. SPALDING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escape Ladders, of /which' the following is a speci-v fication.

My invention relates to improvements in portable fire escapes and my object is to provide an eficient apparatus of this character which can be carried around in a suit case, or other receptacle, by travelers for use in hotels and other buildings not properly equipped with fire escapes.

The present invention relates more particularly to a holder which may be quickly adjusted to any size window sill for the purpose of suspending therefrom my fire escape ladder.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my fire escape suspended from the window of a building, ready for use. Fig. 2 is a broken vertical section of the building with the fire escape suspended from a window thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a holder forming an important feature of the invention. Fig. 4 is a section on line IV-IV of Fig. 3, with the addition of the upper portion of a window sill to which the holder is secured.A

Fig. 5 is a section on line V-V of Fig.l 3, with the addition of the upper portion of the window sill. Fig. 6 is an inverted plan view of the holder.

A designates a portion of a building, B two windows thereof, and C a window sill from which my fire escape is adapted to be suspended. Said fire escape embodies a flexible ladder 1, which is held away from the wall of the building by a bracket 2, as disclosed by Figs. 1 and 2. As the ladder 1 and the bracket 2 are in all substantial respects like those disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 19,909, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

Referring now to the important feature of the present invention, 3 designates a holder which is adapted to grip the upper portion of the window sill C and reliably support the ladder 1 therefrom. Said holder embodies a bar 4 rigidly connected at its ends to a pair of claw members 5, which eX! tend over the top of the window sill C and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 191,6.

Serial No. 19,910.

thumb screws 7, adapted to bear upon ythe upper surface of the window sill C and force the'pointed terminals 8 of said` claw members into the underside of said window sill stool, so that there will'be no danger of the hooks 5 losing their hold when subjected to the weight of a person descending the ladder 1. 'Ihe upper horizontal portions of thehooks 5 are supported a slight distance above the top of the window sill C, by the thumb screws 7 and spherical feet 9. This arrangement raises the bar 4 above the top of the sill C high enough to permit a person to obtain a firm grip upon a rung 10, constituting a part of the holder 3. rIhe rear ends of the hooks 5 are provided with pivoted eyes 11 to engage with snap hooks 12 at theA upper ends of the ladder 1.

The rung 10 is rigidly secured at its ends in the annular terminals 13 of a pair of hooks 14, adapted to coact with the hooks 5 in reliably securing the holder 3 to the window sill C. The rung 10 is reliably held in the terminals 13 by screws 15, extending upward from spherical feet 16, which coact with the feet 9 and the thumb screws 7 in holding` the rung 10 above the top surface of the window sill C. The hooks 14 extend loosely through loops 17 upon the bar 4 and after having their curved forward ends 18, which engage the window sill apron C, adjusted into proper relation with the forward ends of the hooks 5, are looked in the loops 17 by set screws 19.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the holder 3 may be ad- 'justed to fit window sills of different sizes,

and when it is applied to a window sill it is doubly secured thereto through the intermediacy of the hooks 5 and 14.

In case of a fire the holder 3 is quickly applied to the window sill, after which the ladder 1 is cast from the window. The bracket 2 is then adjusted beneath the ledge of the window to hold the ladder away from the wall of the building, so that a person descending the ladder may readily attain a firm foot hold upon the rungs 2 without having their toes contact the wall of the building.

When the re escape is not in use the ladder l is Wrapped around the holder 3, so that the entire apparatus may be placed in a suit ease, or other suitable receptacle.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, I reserve the right to make such changes in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts as properly fall Within the spirit and scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a lire escape, a flexible ladder, a bar suitably connected to said ladder', hooks adjustably-engaging said bar and adapted to engage a Winden7 sill, means to secure said hooks at any point of their adjustment on the bar, a rung Connected to said hooks, and

vmeans to space said rung a short distance above the Window sill.

2. In a ire escape, a flexible ladder, and a holder consisting of a pair of L-shaped hooks secured to the ladder and adapted to engage a Window sill, means to secure hooks to the Window sill, a bar uniting said claw members, a second pair of hooks adjustablyengaging said bar and adapted to engage the Window sill and coact with the claw .members in "supporting the ladder, means to .in the presence of tivo Witnesses.

JAMES F. SPALDING.

l/Vitnesses:

F. G. FISCHER, L. J. Fissi-IER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

